Designer Mulberry bags went under the hammer for charity last week.

At St Christopher's Church hall in Dallas Road, Cheam, £1,500 was raised for St Raphael's Hospice thanks to a jewellery and scarf sale as well as the auction which included famous brands Gucci and Longchamp.

Organiser Charlotte Burke, said: "I thought an auction would be an unusual way of raising money for the hospice.

"We were touched by people’s generosity and the event was great fun. We would particularly like to thank Father Bernard for letting us use the church hall and Sainsbury’s for their generosity in supporting the event."

Community Fundraiser, Kerry Thomas, attended the event and said, "At St Raphael’s we are very grateful to everyone in the community who works so hard to raise vital funds for the hospice. Charlotte and her team have put in a huge amount of effort and it has been a fantastic event."

St Raphael’s Hospice is the local hospice that serves the two London boroughs of Sutton and Merton, with over 380,000 people, since it opened in 1987.

It costs £4m a year to run the hospice, of which some three-quarters relies on charity fundraising, donations and legacies.

If you would like to find out more about running an event in support of St Raphael’s, please contact Kerry on 020 8254 2465 or at Kerry.thomas@straphaelshospice.org.uk.